Money woes lead to violence
Scores of fans of Thessaloniki soccer club Iraklis attacked the club’s headquarters yesterday, starting fires and damaging property. Amid the bedlam, coach Ivan Jovanovic submitted his resignation after having warned the administration to take corrective measures. Iraklis supporters’ groups are angry at the failure by the club’s management to attract new private investors to relieve debts. The fans started a fire with petrol bombs, damaging the building’s entrance, before entering the building and ransacking several offices, police said. No one was injured and no arrests were made. Iraklis finished in 13th place last season in the 16-team league. The bottom three teams were relegated. A season earlier, the Thessaloniki team had qualified for the UEFA Cup. In another negative development at the club, experienced defender Dimitris Mavrogenidis initiated legal action seeking a release from his contract with Iraklis and outstanding fees. At Panathinaikos, the Athens club presented its new coach, 47-year-old Jose Peseiro, 47, to the local media. Commenting on the return of rugged midfielder Giorgos Karagounis, who spent a four-year spell playing first with Italy’s Inter Milan and then Portugal’s Benfica, Peseiro, a UEFA Cup runner-up with Sporting Lisbon three years ago, said: «Panathinaikos possesses fine players. But with Karagounis we’ll become an even stronger team.» Archrival Olympiakos, the defending champion, announced that procedures for the transfer of Real Madrid’s 26-year-old defender Raul Bravo to the club had been completed. (Kathimerini/AP)
